Radiosocket



S. SIMER RADIOSOCKET July 16, 1929.

Filed July 1927 Patented July 16, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAYMOND S. SIMERAL, OF PLANO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGN OR TO THE PIONEER RADIO COR- PORATION, PLANO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLmOIS.

RADIOSOCKET'.

Application filed July 7, 1927. Serial No. 204,050.

My invention relates to improvements in sockets used more especially for making electrical connections between. the several circuits of a radio receiving set, but it may be applied to advantage ,on any class of telephone, telegraph, or testing circuit.

One advantage of my invention is that a number of circuits may be simultaneously made, or broken, without any possibility of the circuit making parts sticking, or causing mechanical jar.

A further object attained by the invention is that a circuit once made will remain indefinitely in good electrical contact at the socket.

A further advantage is found in the extreme lightness and compactness of the assemblage as a whole.

Other advantages and desirable features will appear as the description of the invention proceeds, in connection with the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification.

Fig. 1 is a back plan view of the block of insulation used to assemble the parts on.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the socket, mounted on a panel plate.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the socket, attached to a panel.

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the socket in perspective.

Fig. 5 IS a sectional detail view, showing the character of engagement which exists between the socket contactplates and the pins of a plug element.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view, in perspective, of the spring contact member, used in the socket.

My socket connection consists of an insulation base member 1, made usually of bakelite, but any other material which moulds well and is a good insulator can be employed. As shown in Fig. 1, the socket is cylindrical, and provided with radial rectangular re-,

.45 cesses 3. These recesses, as shown in Fig. 3,

do not run all the way through the socket, and one wall of each recess is grooved, see Figs. 3 and 4. The purpose of the groove 2 being to slidably receive the pin of a lug connector element, such as the base 0? an audion tube, Fig. 4. The groove is in reality a continuation of a hole 22 running hole through which a screw 7 is through the face of the socket. I have shown a socket member carrying four of these holes, but a greater, or less number may be used if desired. The function of the grooves 2 is to guide and steady the motion of the pins 9 while they are being inserted in the socket. These grooves also serve to securely, but detachably, retain the plug element in engagement with the socket element, without liability of either shaking loose, or setting up. poor contacts.

The insulation block 1 is provided with a central boss 4, which carries a counter-bored passed. This screw serves to attach the socket to a base panel, such as is ordinarily used to assemble electrical sets and apparatus on. The edge of the socket is provided with a small projection 12 which engages a depression in the face of the panel to prevent the socket untwisting, or being wrongly placed as to'circuit relations.

When the socket is correctly presented to the panel the tabs 8, used to solder circuit wires to, will align with four holes 20, pierced through the panel. As shown in Fig. 4 these soldering tabs, or connector extensions constitute one end of the socket contact plates, or springs, the other ends terminating in a lip 11 which projects more or less over the edges of the holes 2 passing through the front face of the socket. The lip 11 is an integral part of the spring contact element, formedthereon by a bend which bears against the bottoms of the open-ended pockets 3, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. From this construction it will be obvious that a pin member 9 inserted into the hole 2 must bear against and thrust aside the lip 11, which is made of resilient good conducting material. The efiect of this thrust will be to cause the pin itself to be frictionally held against the opposite insulation wall of the rectangular recess 3, as shown in Fig. 5, thus establishing good contact between pin and contact element or plate.

The pockets 3, Figs. 1 and 3, are approximately rectangular in shape and are considerably larger than the apertures, or pin holes, which leadinto them-from the front of the socket. These apertures, or holes, are so l0- cated with respect to the walls of the pockets 3 that their continuations, along the side walls of the pockets form semi-circular channels or grooves, designed to receive and guide the rounded ends of the tube pins, or connector plug pins. Each pin is thus held securely while making an easy cam approach to the bend of the contact spring, located at the bottom of the pocket. As the pin is pushed home this cam approach forces the free end of the contact spring 11 into-a still Sharper bend, causing considerable pressure between pins and springs.

Returning to the screw attachment between socket and panel it will be'seen the head of screw 7 is well sunken into the body of the backward, out of the plane of the plate, the purpose being to ensure against any possi- \bility of plug pins and plate ends mechanically locking and preventing free release of the plug, sometimessolder drops or burrs onthe pin ends will cause sticking of the parts unless provided for, by the expedient noted above, smooth working requires complete freedom from edge contacts.

The complete socket may be supplied to "the trade provided with a small base plate,

corresponding to the panel piece 5, or only the block of insulation will be needed if the intention is to mount the block, as one of several sockets on a panel board, such as is usually employed on. radio sets. In either case the soldering lugs 8, of the contact plates are passed through holes 20 to the back of the plate, or panel board. The base plate or panel board, whichever may be used, is utilized to hold the several spring contacts in position, as shown in Fig. 4 each 'sprin is provided with a shoulder which bears against the panel board or base plate, and these two partsare held securely in place by screw 7, acting in conjunction with holes 20, through which lugs 8 pass. The effect of the screw 7 is to set up an endwise thrust on each in dividual' spring member which acts to clamp them rigidly between their retaining shoulders and their return bend contact ends,'thu,s holding each spring securely in place. From the above it will be understood that the socket, with spring contacts assembled therein, may be, supplied to the trade as a complete article of manufacture, without any backing plate, with the screw 7 in its hole, because the hook shaped, i. e., folded, contact ends of the springs are resilient and spread apart to grip the side walls of the recesses, or chambers 3, hence thesesprings will be held in place frict-ionally, until mounted on a panel. Obviously the number of contact plates may be varied as desired, but for radio tube work sockets are usually made up as shown for engagement with bases carrying four pins.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as novel is:

1. In a plug socket, a block of insulation material, a plurality of spring elements provided with contact parts housed in open ended pockets formed in said .block, each ele-' ment being provided with an engagement shoulder and comprising an integral connector extension projecting beyond the open ends of said pockets, and a resilientcam shaped contact bend bearing against the closed ends ,of said pockets, said block having pin holes communicating with the bottoms of the pockets and continuing in part along one of the pocket walls, whereby grooves are formed in said walls designed to hold the pins in contact making relation to the cam shaped bends of said spring elements.

2. An electric socket comprising a member of insulation material having a series of pocket recesses therein, in combinatioirwith spring members having integral support engaging provisions projecting beyond the socket and resilient contact parts housed within said recesses provided with return bends, and fixation means designed to hold said bends under pressure against the bottoms of their housing recesses and in a plane normal to the socket axis when the socket is se-v cured to a rigid support, whereby one side of the return bend is held fixed and the other side is freely movable to serve as a resilient contact, within its recess.

3. A sheet metal contact member for a plug socket, comprising ,a connector portion at one end and a return ben contact portion at the other end, the center lines of both portions being disposed parallel to the same plane and the connector-portion being of lesswidth than the contact portion.

4. In a socket a member of insulation,a plurality of open ended chambers in said member, having apertured rear walls, return bend contact elements in said chambers with their bends engaging the rear Walls of the chambers in aplane at right angles to the axis of the socket member, said elements pro- Vided with integral circuit connector attachments projecting beyond the open ends of the said chambers, and assembly means for said parts to hold one side of the return bend contact element fixed and to leave its other side resiliently free to engage a pin inserted through the a ertured rear wall of the socket member cham ers.

5. In 'a socket, a member of insulation, a plurality of open ended chambers in said member, having apertured rear walls, return bend contact elements in said chambers with their bends engaging the rear walls of the chambers in a plane at right angles to the axis of the socket member, said elements proto hold the said connector parts fixed with relation to the socket member and to permit a resilient engagement between the outer part of the contact elements and pins inserted through the said apertured rear walls of their chambers. Y

6. An electric socket spring of sheet metal having a terminal connector at one end, a return bend fold at the other end and an intermediate portion provided with a shoulder designed to co-operate with the return bend fold end to hold the spring in position through endwise thrust.

7. An electric socket of insulation material provided with exposed plane faces, contact springs provided with retaining shoulders assembled therein with folded contact edges disposed parallel to one of said faces and integral terminal extensions protruding beyon the socket from the other exposed face,

the rounded faces of the folded terminating adjacent to formed in the socket.

8. In a spring contact socket, a member of insulation, recesses therein, reversely bent spring contacts, having the turn of. the bends contact edges plug apertures engaging the bottoms of the recesses and shoulders ranging flush with an outer surface of the insulation member, and a panel plate clamped against said shoulders, whereby the insulation member and the backing plate are held together, through endwise pressure on said spring contacts.

9. A plug socket comprising a base part and a socket part of insulation -111aterial, spring contact elements having folds at one end, engaging the socket part, and intermediate endwise shoulders engaging the base, means for clamping the base part, socket part and spring contact elements together, assembled as recited, and a terminal part integral with the spring contact element projecting through and beyond the base part.

RAYMOND S. SIMERAL. 

